elcome to this edition of Metamorphosis,
the magazine published by the Association
for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. It’s our
pleasure in sharing some of the fine work we do across the
UK in helping people change problems into solutions.
This edition is a wonderful mix of different subjects
and areas in which we work. Sports psychology,
corporate therapy, over eating and stress - something for
everyone.

H

ope you enjoy the magazine, any questions or
quieries please send to me at journal@afsfh.com

The Association for Solution
Focused Hypnotherapy
established 2010 represents
the practice of solution
focused hypnotherapists as a
distinct profession in its own
right. Membership is open to
those practitioners who have
the appropriate qualiﬁcations
and experience within the
ﬁeld.
The contents of this magazine
are protected by copyright
and nothing may be reprinted
without prior permission. The
publishers cannot accept
liability for content of material
in the magazine.

As humans we all come with a
hardwired survival mechanism,
it is preloaded information, our
survival instincts. This information
is stored in the part of our brain
often referred to as the reptilian
or primitive part of the brain. The
amygdalae, hippocampus and
hypothalamus, among others,
drive our instinctive responses.
They tell us when we are in crisis or
emergency and then inform us how
to behave. The problem comes,
however, when instead of primitive
dangers such as wild animals and
other tribesmen, we perceive an
event in our lives as a crisis for
example, problems with our jobs,
relationships and self- esteem. The
primitive brain responds in exactly
the same way to the crisis, tripping
the switch of the stress response

4 | Metamorphosis

and encouraging us to fight, flight
or freeze.
How does this manifest itself then? To
fight or flight means we are flooded with
chemicals and neurotransmitters to make
us stronger and faster, such as adrenaline
and cortisol. Once in our system these
make us feel anxious and angry, our heart
rate increases and we feel on the edge of
panic or anger, or even both. Then there
is the other end of the stress response, the
freeze, we opt-out and put everything on
hold including our chemicals in order to
save valuable energies in case we need
them later on. We are in a state of high
alert, obsessive and vigilant in case we
need to change quickly to fight or flight
mode. Sometimes though, people can
freeze and then spend so much time
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;opting outâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; so as to avoid potentially
harmful situations, this can lead to
depression and sleep disorders.

If we think about our job, relationships pattern match to the DOC and we become
and self- esteem in negative ways, as serotonin depleted preferring again and
things to worry about, we will trigger our again to use our ‘fake’ comfort response
stress responses as our mind receives instead of getting our neurotransmitters
information that we are under threat, in generating the crucial feel good chemicals
crisis and all is not well. We, in effect, put we need. Humans are the only animals on
ourselves on red alert. The only behavioural the planet to have a neurological system
outcome then is routed in panic, anxiety, hardwired with a need for rewards. We
anger and depression. If we are lucky need to take positive action, have positive
enough to sleep well and have good social interactions and positive thoughts in order
to feel motivated and
support structures this
achieve goals. It is
doesn’t evolve into a
Our Drug of
only through the
problem and is soon
Choice could be
achievement of these
dealt with effectively
by our brain and put
caffeine, nicotine, goals that we can
fulfilled and
into perspective, desalt, sugar, and of become
motivated. It is little
aroused and we are
course alcohol.
wonder then that
able to move forward.
addicts of various
However, when this
We are training
DOC’s, through their
is not the case panic/
our brains to
depletion of feel good
anxiety/depressive
chemicals, lack the
disorders can develop
accept this
motivation to want to
and we may find that
‘quick ﬁx’.
make changes.
help is needed to get
back on track.
The good news is that with understanding
In addition to anxiety and stress disorders and insight getting back on track and
there is also of course the modern day back in control can be achieved. Once
coping method which is reaching for our we understand that this mechanism is
Drug of Choice (DOC). Our DOC could actually activating our stress responses we
be caffeine, nicotine, salt, sugar, and are immediately better equipped to return
of course alcohol. We are training our to intellectual control, turn off our fight,
brains to accept this ‘quick fix’. We take flight and freeze response, switching our
on the chemicals contained in our DOC focus from negative to positive. Sounds
and this becomes our ‘pick-me-up’ – it simple? It is simple but not necessarily
doesn’t take long for the primitive brain to easy. Changing thought and behaviour

Metamorphosis | 5

patterns does take effort, like learning and
acquiring any new skill. So, how do we
turn-off our stress response and get back
a sense of control?
Well, we need to address our sleep.
Sleep is absolutely pivotal to positive
mental health -all the usual advice is an
excellent place to start, good bedtime
routines, exercise, getting time outdoors
and anything that promotes relaxation
such as meditation, acupuncture, massage,
hypnotherapy, listening to music and
much more besides. Taking control of the
negative radio in our heads is also pivotal
- all those negative thoughts accumulate.
Positive thoughts, distraction and forming
manageable achievable goals will help
restore intellectual control and turn down
the stress response.
Imagine this - if you were out for a stroll
in the jungle and you thought you heard
a lion approaching; you would begin to
turn on your panic response. Gradually
you would feel more and more panicked,
more and more stress hormones would
race through your body, losing more and
more intellectual control until the fight,
flight freeze switches on. But, what if you
happen upon a stunning orchid grove.
You stop to smell the flowers and begin
to drink in your environment. What then?
Well, your brain would stop panicking for
a start! It would know that if you had time
to stop and wonder at the vibrancy of the

6 | Metamorphosis

flowers and the beautiful sights and smells
that surrounded you then the panic must
be over and the threat must be gone.
Apply this to modern day stresses and
the effect is the same. Stop to notice
the moment, be mindful and be in the
present noticing little wonders all around
you, smells, sights, colours, trees, birds,
smiles, songs – basically anything at all
that focuses you on the here and now;
stops your mind and your negative radio
racing away with you. Being mindful is a
way of paying attention to the present
moment, using techniques like meditation,
breathing and yoga. It helps us become
more aware of our thoughts and feelings
so that instead of being overwhelmed
by them, we’re better able to manage
them. Practising mindfulness can give
people more insight into their emotions,
boost their attention and concentration
and improve relationships. It’s proven to
help with stress, anxiety, depression and
addictive behaviours, and can even have
a positive effect on physical problems like
hypertension, heart disease and chronic
pain.
Turning off our flight, fight, freeze
response is also crucial, and of course, being
relaxed is the opposite of being stressed.
In her paper ‘Talking to the Amygdala:
Expanding the Science of Hypnosis’
Muriel Prince Warren, explains that by
talking to the amygdala, an experienced

hypnotherapist can relax the autonomic are positive we become more attuned to
nervous system, shutting down, or noticing opportunities and we cope better
curtailing, the trigger that sets off secretion with setbacks and remove obstacles .
of the adrenal and pituitary glands.
With improved sleep, more positive
When a patient is in a hypnotic trance
the amygdala automatically shuts down thinking and the formation of achievable
the rapid alert system and turns off the goals we can go a long way to combat the
stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline), effects of stress and living in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hectic
cortocotropin, and glucocorticoids and we and demanding world. Couple these with
can then inhibit the flight, fight or freeze some enjoyable regular exercise and we
mechanism. In the cases she mentions in really can tip the balance in our brains,
her research the technique of relaxation being much more relaxed and calm, and
when
we
through
are relaxed
hypnosis has
When a patient is in a
and calm we
proven
to
remain
in
be a highly
hypnotic trance the
control and
effective tool
amygdala automatically
able to make
in
giving
shuts down the rapid alert a proper
the body a
assessment
chance
to
system and turns off the
of
the
heal
itself
stress hormones.
situation.
through its
T a k i n g
own inherent
frequent
w i s d o m
effective exercise is one of the best physical
system.
stress-reduction techniques available.
When we focus on what we want Exercise not only improves your health and
then the Reticular Activating System reduces stress; it also relaxes tense muscles
(RAS) will notice anything through our and helps you to sleep. Once free from the
senses. Primarily what we see or focus negative and primitive brain responses
on increases and the RAS can find those that are instinctively tied to feelings of
previously elusive solutions because we anger, anxiety and depression; all of which
have changed from a problem focus to a fuel addiction and of course the NEED for
solutions focus; when we change our filters that DOC we are once again able to see the
our viewfinder has been modified so we wood for the trees and that feels good.
Once we have something to feel good
can see things differently. Also when we

Metamorphosis | 7

about we are winning - instead of stress
chemicals coursing through our veins we
can instead generate serotonin, dopamine,
noradrenalin’s etc., chemicals that make
us feel happy, motivated and successful.
We can’t argue with our chemistry! How
we think really does affect how we feel,
our brain releases the chemicals we tell it
we need, based on our assessment of the
reality we inhabit. So, stop to smell the
roses, get your heart pumping, attend to
your sleep routines and use all the tools
you have to get your intellectual thinking
self back on board, taking your foot off
the flight, fight and freeze response, and
therefore feeling much calmer. And if

you only do one thing differently, do
something for yourself, only for yourself
that you enjoy ... when we do this we feel
good and ultimately have more resources
available for others. Relaxing and focusing
on the positives really does help restore
intellectual control, putting you back on
a ‘full set of cylinders’ and able to make
proper assessments of life’s situations 

Trevor Eddolls is an IT expert and
solution focused hypnotherapist
in Chippenham Wiltshire
http://ihypno.zxq.net

Metamorphosis | 9

The first time I had a client with
grief issues, I wasn’t quite sure what
to do. I knew they needed to get into
their control brain and out of their
emotional brain, but I wasn’t sure
what stages of grief they had to go
through or whether my experiences
of loss were of any value in this
situation.
Grief usually follows a loss. A person can
grieve for a dead family member, and they
can also grieve for lost friends, a lost home,
a job, even a country. Whatever form the
loss takes, a person can experience grief.
Watching TV programmes and films,
you’d think everyone went through the
five stages of grief that were first specified
by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book
On Death and Dying. The stages are:
 Denial
–
“I
feel
fine”;
“This can’t be happening to
me”.
 Anger – “Why me? It’s not fair!”;
“How can this happen to me?”;
“Who
is
to
blame?”.
People can be angry with themselves, or
with others.
 Bargaining – “I’ll do anything for a
few
more
years”;
“I will give my life savings if...”
 Depression – “I’m so sad, why bother
with
anything?”;
“I’m
going
to
die

10 | Metamorphosis

soon
so
what’s
the
point?”;
“I miss my loved one, why go on?”
 Acceptance – “It’ll be OK”;
“I
can’t
fight
it,
I
may
as well prepare for it”.
But these stages were only what KüblerRoss had observed and were not meant
to be prescriptive, only descriptive. Other
researchers have not observed people
moving through these stages.
So, if people aren’t working their way
through the five stages of grief, what are
they doing?
George Bonanno suggested that a
natural resilience is the main component
of grief and trauma reactions. He came up
with, what he called, four trajectories of
grief. He even showed that the absence
of grief or trauma symptoms is a healthy
outcome. He found that grief responses
can include laughter, celebration, and
bawdiness, as well as sadness (which is what
you’d expect). He called these counterintuitive strategies “coping ugly”. He also
found that resilience is normal for people.
His four trajectories are:
 Resilience – the ability to maintain
relatively
stable,
healthy
levels of psychological and physical
functioning.
 Recovery – following Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) episodes.

Charles A Corr suggested that individuals
may try out different coping strategies
only to reject them. He also thought that
a person may pursue several strategies
at the same time, even if they are not
compatible.

Hypnotherapy can help clients to
manage their internal experiences, so
that they can move from feelings of pain
and sadness to those of acceptance and
calm. Hypnotherapy can help make the
process of bereavement and mourning
less painful and more manageable by:

According to the Changing Minds Web
site, “we are not always able to cope with
the difficulties that we face. As a result,
we are subject to feelings of tension
and stress, for example the cognitive
dissonance and potential shame of
doing something outside our values. To
handle this discomfort we use various
coping methods.” They go on to suggest
a number of types of coping mechanisms:
 Adaptive mechanisms – that offer
positive help.
 Attack mechanisms – that push
discomfort onto others.
 Avoidance mechanisms – that avoid
the issue.
 Behavioural mechanisms – that
change what we do.
 Cognitive mechanisms – that
change what we think.
 Conversion
mechanisms
–
that
change
one
thing

 Helping people come to terms with
their loss
 Visualizing a positive future and
setting goals
 Lowering emotional responses of
fear and loneliness
 Increasing levels of self-esteem
 Overcoming temporary responses
such as poor eating, lack of exercise,
etc
 Dealing with unresolved issues with
the deceased
 Celebrating the life of the deceased.
People may need help before the funeral.
They may also need help to get through
the funeral. And they will probably need
help for a period of time after the funeral.
The funeral doesn’t mark the end of their
feelings of grief.
People who come to see me about

Metamorphosis | 11

grief and bereavement issues may be
experiencing shock and disbelief at their
loss. They will probably be feeling very sad
and may cry a lot. Some people may be
feeling guilty about the things they said or
didn’t say. Or they may feel guilty at their
feelings of relief (for example after a long
illness). They may be feeling angry at the
world for taking away their loved one, or
they may feel angry with themselves. They
may be feeling fear because they have
been left alone to cope or because they

12 | Metamorphosis

realize their own mortality. And they may
be experiencing physical symptoms such
as fatigue, nausea, insomnia, aches and
pains.
It’s important to tell people they have
permission to express their feelings
(not just during a session) and they can
do this by talking to an empty chair (a
Gestalt technique), or writing a letter to
the deceased. They need to understand
that they don’t need to ‘move on’ or ‘get

over it’ until they are ready. Grief is a
natural process, it won’t last forever, and
the client will be able to move on when
they’re ready. You can plan ahead with the
client for occasions that will trigger their
sad feelings, for example anniversaries,
or visiting places they associate with the
deceased, etc. Let them know that they are
allowed to cry when they’re with you – and
they’re also allowed to laugh – whatever
feels right for them. And be prepared to
hear the same story over again. The client
is processing and accepting the death,
and repeating the story helps to lessen the
pain of the loss for them.
Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), also
called complicated grief, presents as longterm and severe grief symptoms. Most
people are resilient and start to move on
with their life. However the Helpguide.
org site suggests that after two months
there are warning signs to look out
for indicating that people need help.
These are:











You may well see people experiencing
some of these difficulties following
bereavement.
Going back to resilience, which is
sometimes called hardiness, mental
toughness, or resourcefulness, but
whatever term is used, it is refers to an
individual’s ability to cope with stress and
adversity. For people who have suffered
a loss, it’s their ability to cope with their
grief.
Fredrickson in 2003 identified moreresilient people as those who noticed
positive meanings in the problem they
faced, experienced fewer depressive
symptoms, and experienced more positive
emotions than less resilient people.
Ong found low-resilient people had
difficulties regulating negative emotions
and over-reacted to normal daily events.
As hypnotherapists, we help clients be
more positive about aspects of their life
and recognize good things in their lives. 

Difficulty functioning in daily life
Extreme focus on the death
Excessive bitterness, anger, or guilt
Neglecting personal hygiene
Alcohol or drug abuse
Inability to enjoy life
Hallucinations
Withdrawing from others
Constant feelings of hopelessness
Talking about dying or suicide.

Metamorphosis | 13

References:
Kübler-Ross, E. (1969) On Death and Dying, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-04015-9
Death and Dying, Life and Living by Charles A Corr, Donna M Corr, Clyde M Nabe: Wadsworth; International Ed
edition (8 May 2008). ISBN-10: 0495506486
The Other Side of Sadness by George Bonanno. Basic Books; Reprint edition (20 Jan 2011). ISBN-10: 0465021905
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/coping.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm
Fredrickson, B. L.; Tugade, M. M.; Waugh, C. E.; Larkin, GR (2003). “A prospective study of resilience and emotions
following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2002”. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 84 (2): 365–376. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.365. PMC 2755263. PMID 12585810.
Fredrickson, B. L.; Tugade, M. M.; Waugh, C. E.; Larkin, GR (2003). “A prospective study of resilience and emotions
following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2002”. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 84 (2): 365–376. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.365. PMC 2755263. PMID 12585810.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_resilience

Research news
According to the results published in the
December 2012 issue of the Scandinavian
Journal of Medicine and Science in
Sports, a study where people who had
undergone surgery to repair the anterior
cruciate ligament of the knee (ACL) were
randomly assigned to one of two groups
to see if intervention after surgery would
influence the outcomes.
All participants received standard
rehabilitation during the six months after
surgery, but one group also practised
guided imagery while recovering. The
imagery, which was conducted in sessions
with a therapist and recorded for later

14 | Metamorphosis

listening, included mentally rehearsing
physical therapy exercises and visualizing
the physiological healing process specific
to ACL surgery, such as scar tissue
becoming flexible with gentle stretching.
The group that practised imagery showed
greater improvements in knee stability
and reduced levels of stress hormones.
The study authors speculate that imagery
may speed recovery by reducing stress,
which has been shown to interfere with
healing.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
10.1111/sms.2012.22.issue-6/issuetoc

A few facts about sleep
By Penny Ling
1) The longest verified numbers of
hours a person has gone without sleep is
264 - but I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t advise it.

develop dementia than those who did not
use the drugs. More research is needed
says the NHS.

2) Fathers co-sleeping with their young
children help lower testosterone levels, and
divert them away from risky behaviour.

7) Elderly women who suffer from sleep
apnoea are about twice as likely to develop
dementia as those without the condition,
according to a multi-centre study led
by researchers from the University of
California, this could be a very important
incentive for highly obese women to loss
weight.

3) Snuggling up in bed with a stuffed toy
as an adult shows no signs of a personality
disorder as previously thought.
4) Using a laptop, a tablet or watching
a flat screen TV disturbs the sleep pattern
- researchers suggest instead of reading
from a tablet try investing in - horror of
horrors - a real book!

8) If you stop breathing when sleeping
or wake to find your bed clothes are
always a disarray, you probably have sleep
apnoea - go to your GP and ask for a PAP
machine.

5) The NHS admit hypnosis
can help sleep problems http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/
insomnia/Pages/hypnosis.
aspx
6) A French study - of 15
years - that followed just over
a thousand elderly adults of
an average age of 78, found
that although initially free
from dementia those who
started taking the sleeping
drug benzodiazepine were
after the first three years of
the study 60% more likely to

Metamorphosis | 15

What it takes to be a w
Recently Chrystal Palace have
been in the news for hiring ex
champion boxer Glenn Catley, who
is helping the team improve their
performance using hypnosis.
Back in the days when he earned his keep
as a professional boxer, hypnotherapist
Glenn Catley famously utilised hypnosis
to help him achieve success inside the
ring. Much has been reported of Glennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
association with David Newton as an
important factor in winning British and
World boxing titles at separate weights.
But what happened behind the scenes?
Hypnotherapy Today - the journal for
the association for solution focused
hypnotherapy - recently caught up with
Glenn for a candid look at his preparation
ahead of his bout with British champion
Neville Brown.
Background:
Coming off a stoppage defeat in a WBC
international title fight the previous year
(later avenged), confidence at an all-time
low.
The challenge: To win the British
Middleweight title off Neville Brown, an
established champion with advantages in
experience, boxing ability, height, reach
and a rapier jab.
When: 07/01/1998

16 | Metamorphosis

Where:
Whitchurch Leisure Centre,
Bristol.
Preparation time: Three months
Daily training regimen:
8am: Three mile run
10am -12.30 pm: Head to the gym for
hard
training including, sparring, pad
work, tactical preparation
1.00pm: Home for a sleep/food
3.00pm: Strength and conditioning with
Amir Esmeali (approx. one hour, three
times per week)
5 pm: Home for food and a rest
8 pm: Five mile run
Mental preparation
Watching tapes of

Neville

Brown

world champion boxer

By Paul Concannon
HPD, DHP, LNCP, MNCP)
Twitter: @avongorgehypno

confidence, visualisation on a specific
punch (such as the uppercut counter to
Neville Brown’s jab – nicknamed “The
Mongoose” by David), more focus etc.
Trance segment of the sessions:
Following induction and deepener Tropical island, hill, long grass, a peaceful
place, walk through forest, brushing
against shrubbery, sights, sounds,
smells, sunshine and breeze on face,
walking onto the beach, waves, the
taste of salt, being made comfortable
with the beach, absorbing the energy
of the place, visualising a boxing ring.

Seeing the fight, following the pattern
of the fight, round by round (all 12 rounds),
the skill, the tactics, mind-set, instilling
unshakable confidence, ring entrance,
the feelings, triggers for ferocity (two deep
breaths), practicing ‘the mongoose’, the
people who will be there, the place, the
senses, reinforcement on being relaxed
and ‘being the best you can be’, being in
‘the zone’, post-fight celebration in front
of home town fans, proposing to girlfriend
Kelli.
Back at home, evening time:
Additional self-hypnosis trance state
visualisation to accentuate 1-2-1 sessions
with David.
Crunch time, the night of the fight:
A final trance session approx. 25 minutes

Metamorphosis | 17

before the start of the fight, taking place
on the floor of the ladies toilets of the
Whitchurch Leisure Centre with a blanket
and pillow, final visit to the beach, and ring.
Trance, words of fortification from
David:

“Come on Glenn, let’s engage
everything.”

“This is what it’s all been about.”

“This is everything.”

“You have done it a thousand
times already.”

“This is nothing new, you can do
this.”
The fight through Glenn’s eyes:

I feel like I could beat three Mike
Tysons

I feel in the zone, like a robot

Complete focus during walk to
the ring, this is nothing new, I
have already done it
before many, many times.

First in the ring, everything feels
familiar, and I have done this
before, many, many times

There
is
no
doubt,
no negativity, everything is as
expected

Bell rings, we touch gloves
and I attack with well-ordered
ferocity,
feeling
totally
in control

“The Mongoose” works
instinctively, time after time,

18 | Metamorphosis





jarring the champion’s head back
Aggressive
laser
focus,
landing combinations at will
Automatically avoiding the jab
and countering
Walking through the shots that
do get through – no negativity

The result:
After eight rounds (of a scheduled 12)
Neville Brown retires on his stool. The
brave champion gives his all but in the
end is thoroughly beaten by the dynamic,
aggressive challenger. Glenn Catley is
declared the new British Middleweight
champion in front of his adoring hometown
fans and moments later proposes to his
girlfriend Kelli who accepts. Everything
goes exactly according to plan.
Final words from Glenn Catley:
“The biggest thing for me with the
hypnotherapy was the confidence [it
tapped into], money cannot buy it.
My confidence had been on the floor
(following on from his defeat) before I met
David. The more sessions I had, the more
incrementally vivid the tropical island was.
“Being in the zone like I was that night,
working instinctively, automatically, is
a question of our conscious mind and
subconscious mind working together and
while its seems like a contradiction, in
order for our subconscious to do its thing
in that positive way, first of all we need to
be in intellectual control.” 

A Weighty Issue
Judith Goldsmith developed her own solution focused approach
Over the past two years I have been
developing an approach to weight
issues, which has proven highly
effective. Clients use the techniques
I teach, the method of eating, and
carry on reducing their weight long
after they have stopped seeing me.
I offer a structured programme which
ensures we cover every aspect of weight
reduction, (exercise, emotional eating, self
image), but which also enables us to be
flexible and solution focused.
There are many erroneous beliefs about
weight and dieting and I find the main
focus of the sessions I have with clients is to
challenge these beliefs as we come across
them, within the context of a solution
focused approach, of course.
There are certain essentials, which are
important to understand at the start,
beginning with an understanding of
why dieting is unlikely to result in long
term weight loss. In fact only a very small
percentage of people who go on diets
manage to lose weight permanently.

To start with, going on a diet creates
a deprivation mentality. This means that
we begin to want something even more
than we would normally. Remembering
that we are all small children at heart and
want what we see others getting, especially

when we’ve been told we can’t have it.

Secondly, going on a diet places
strict rules around eating. While we are
on the diet and determined to follow it,
we are very conscious of everything we
eat. This brings the reticular activating
system into play in order to monitor our
goals and our progress. Unfortunately a
lot of those goals are negative e.g. I won’t
eat chocolate. What then happens is
that we check out whether or not we are
avoiding chocolate every five minutes,
meaning that we actually think about
the chocolate more often than usual.

Finally, during the diet we
become very stressed about food and
eating. Of course any form of stress alerts
the primitive mind to potential danger.
It realises that the danger is in some way
related to food, but we are clearly not
choking or eating poison. Therefore, the
primitive mind assumes we are starving.
As soon as we relinquish control of the
anterior cingulate, (hopefully when we
finish the diet), the primitive mind steps
in to rectify the period of starvation - by
creating an overwhelming urge to eat. This
is the reason that people gain more weight
after a diet.
The next important thing for people to
understand is that, unless someone has a
medical condition, weight gain is always
caused by overeating. For some this is

Metamorphosis | 19

going on a diet creates a deprivation mentality. This means that we
begin to want something even more than we would normally.
obvious, but many people are completely
unaware of how little food they actually
need to stay physiologically healthy. We
live, perhaps for the first time in history,
during a period of food over abundance.
Despite this, many of us still have beliefs
around food and eating which are
appropriate for a time of scarcity e.g. you
must finish what is on your plate.
I offer clients a set of strategies for eating,
a process, if you like, which helps them to
gradually understand their body better
and to respond to the natural signals
which they have been ignoring, often since
childhood. The basic premise is that we all
know what is right for us. When we are
dealing with clients who are, for instance,
depressed, we assume they know the way
to get out of their depression but we give
them a hand in accessing that knowledge.

20 | Metamorphosis

In the same way, the strategies I suggest
to clients, enable them to become more
aware of what their body really wants.
The strategies are as follows:
 Notice when you are hungry.
Many overeaters ignore hunger.
Doing so means that when they
do eat they are so hungry
that they lose control.
 Check to see if that hunger is
really thirst, fatigue or upset. At
this
point
I
usually
advise
clients to have a drink and wait for
it to go down.
 If you really are physically hungry,
decide how hungry.
 Choose foods you really enjoy.
If we are eating foods we enjoy
our mind stays engaged with
the process.

Many
people
worry
that if they are allowed to
eat
what
they
want
they will pig out on cream
cakes and chips. In fact, when we
really pay attention to our body, we
have greater control over our choices.
 Pay attention whilst eating, make the
meal an occasion, even if it is only
a packet of crisps. No distractions. This
strategy is a temporary one, as we train
our mind to become more aware.
 Finally, stop as soon as you are no
longer hungry. It is really pointless to tell
an overeater to stop when they are
full, because full to them means
bloated. Stopping when no

longer hungry is an important skill to
learn and at the heart of altering eating
habits permanently.
Following this eating pattern is
enormously enlightening for many
people, who are often amazed at how little
they need to eat. It gives back a feeling
of control around eating and clients can
begin to relax about food 
Judith Goldsmith is a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist
working in the Chew Valley between Bristol and
Bath.
http://www.chewvalleyhypnotherapy.co.uk

Weigh loss Research
It was thought amongst the scientific
communities that it was low blood
sugar levels that drove the desire to eat
whatever was to hand, without being
mindful of what you’re putting into
your body.
However research published in the
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism Jan 18 2012 show a direct link
between sleep deprivation and obesity.
12 men were examined:- Hunger ratings
and glucose levels were taken before the
scan, and hunger ratings in response to
the food images, after the an fMRI scan.

The scans showed an increased
activation in the right anterior cingulate
cortex in response to food images,
independent of calorie content and prescan hunger ratings in those who had
been deprived of sleep. There was no
change in glucose levels after the scan. The
results show evidence that acute sleep loss
increases the chances of making unhelpful
decisions about which food to consume independent of glucose levels.
This shows that sleep deprivation can
disrupt the brain’s ability to take the
appropriate course of action

Metamorphosis | 21

Staying Together
Michael Hughes explores the Reticular Activating System
Keep your eyes peeled, well, not
literally peel your eyes, I mean
metaphorically of course. The human
eye, it’s a fascinating thing and as
a pair they help us to perceive the
world in which we live. It’s only when
something happens that affects your
vision that you pay closer attention to
it and it permeates through into your
awareness. A great deal of what we see
and understand relates to the way we
move our eyes to navigate, which helps
us to understand appreciate what we
are seeing.
In his recent and excellent DVD, An
Introduction to NLP with Richard Bandler
2010, he mentions a client of his that had
a fear of the dark, so Bandler asked him
to close his eyes and said “So, is it dark in
there?” The client laughed and began the
process of change and quickly overcoming
his fear.
Research shows us that even the
direction of which we look can impact on
our thoughts too. When there is dark and
miserable weather in winter, people tend
to look down and reflect on feelings which
are usually about the past and that glum
feeling that matches the weather becomes
repeated. However research has shown
that when we look up we change our
physiological state and this can positively
affect our mental state. Things in life can
look up too so it’s not just when the sun
shines.

22 | Metamorphosis

Research also shows us that the
orientation of our eyes played a central
role in our survival. In primitive times
we would have been hyper vigilant and
switched on to a constant alert state so as
to be watchful for any signs of danger or
the noticeable salivatory hunger pangs of
a sabre tooth tiger in close proximity.
In those days we had to use our eyes,
as well as the rest of our senses, to attend
to a hostile world with food scarce, wild
animals, volcanoes, tsunamis, lightening,
thunder, and storms. In primitive times the
demands and stress from our environment
coupled with survival instincts and
immediate action became integrated or
hard wired. In New Scientist Issue No 2817,
Rob Dunn, author of a new book entitled
The Wildlife of Our Bodies, highlights
research that shows our brains are still
wired to avoid predators we no longer
encounter: our adrenal system responds
to modern daily stresses as if they were
mortal threats, and he theorises that our
acute vision may have evolved specifically
to avoid venomous snakes.
In a recent new study researchers
have known that the brain is constantly
changing as it perceives the outside world,
processing and learning about everything
it encounters. Researchers now understand
how the brain changes when confronted
with various situations. Every moment our
eyes are open our brains are changing in
some very sophisticated ways.

Michael Hughes is a Solution Focused
Hypnotherapist and supervisor based in bristol.
http://www.michael-hughes.co.uk

It’s funny how aspects of those things
still appear in the headlines today.
In some ways it’s a bit like handing an
iphone to someone in fifty years time
with a look of disdain and saying, “Hey, it
still works and does the job doesn’t it?”
Research from an evolutionary psychology
perspective tells us that our brains have
not fundamentally changed over the
last 100,000 years, aside from a report in
December 2010 which concluded that as
increasingly complex societies emerged,
the brain grew smaller because people
didn’t have to be as smart to stay alive.
Emotion came before reason; we had to
feel before we thought in order to survive.
But we know that the brain changes all the
time.
Of course we know that in those days
we had to stand and fight, run or hide in
order to survive the dangers throughout
life and that we survived better within a
group or network rather than in isolation.
Seeing friends and having that feeling
of belonging is still as important even in
a world where an increasing number of
our interactions take place on-line. I think
face to face is still so important in today’s
virtual prevalence. A good friend of mine
sent me a brilliant snippet of information
recently reiterating that meeting people
tethers the mind to the present moment
and stops it wandering off into the past
and drifting into the future, so we met up
for coffee and of course, we laughed, we
learned, we connected.

In today’s terms this primitive system
reactive to ‘threatening situations’ in a
modern world can still negatively impact
on us if we remain in a prolonged stressed
state and especially if we remain or feel
isolated.
Many people today are held back from
achieving their potential by propagating
fears and limitations and focusing on the
negative and then looking for more of the
same. In a recent book ‘What’s Stopping
You? Why Smart People Don’t Always Reach
Their
Potential
and
How
You
Can,’
by
Robert
Kelsey,
he cites that too much anxiety causes a
neural hijacking that Daniel Goleman,
writer of Emotional Intelligence (1994)
‘overrides the thinking brain’and sometimes
our mind can become an incubator
of anxiety, anger, depression and fear.
We do however possess something
rather remarkable called the Reticular
Activating System, whereby we can bring
about change when we know what we
want and we are focused on the desired
result. You’ve no doubt heard many times,
‘the brain has to know what it wants’ and
our RAS does more than we think. It also is a
part of the brain that governs wakefulness
and sleep.
It is the area that notices things that
we focus our attention on. For instance, if
you decide that you need a new car and
you like a particular make and model in
a certain shade of red, after you decided

Metamorphosis | 23

what you wanted your RAS would draw
your attention to all those red cars that
‘matched’ whereas previously your
attention would have been elsewhere and
essentially filtered out.
For those people who have high anxiety or
negativity their RAS becomes temporarily
distorted and tends to focus on the same
and pattern matches to look for other
high anxieties or negativity by association
and conditioning. Paradoxically the same
activates and propagates via relaxation
and positivity and we feel more in control.
Our ability to cope and happiness increases
when we notice and focus on the good
things.
In her paper ‘Talking to the Amygdala:
Expanding the Science of Hypnosis’ by
Muriel Price Warren, she cites that by
talking to the amygdala, an experienced
hypnotherapist can relax the autonomic
nervous system, shutting down, or
curtailing, the trigger that sets off secretion
of the adrenal and pituitary glands. When
a patient is in an hypnotic trance the
amygdala automatically shuts down the
rapid alert system and turns off the stress
hormones epinephrine, cortocotropin, and
glucocorticoids and we can then inhibit
the flight, fight or freeze mechanism.
When we focus on what we want then
the RAS will notice anything through our
senses. Primarily what we see or focus
on increases and the RAS can find those
previously elusive solutions because we
have changed from a problem focus to a
solutions focus; when we change our filters
our viewfinder has been modified so we
can see things differently. Also when we
are positive we become more attuned to

24 | Metamorphosis

noticing opportunities and we cope better
with setbacks and remove obstacles.
In an interesting business article Katharine
McLennan asks ‘Can We Overcome the
Brains Hardwiring?’One of the ways she cites
to combat the old brain’s survival instincts
is to develop methods to find quiet, or calm
time, during the day so that you can be
inspired by intuition and insight. It reads,
“It is the brain that puts out the call, but it
is the mind that decides what to listen to.”
Your reticular activating system cannot
distinguish between ‘real events’ and
‘synthetic’ reality. In other words it tends to
believe whatever message it is given.
In a blog by Steve Mycoe, Sports
Hypnosis, he mentions that if we program
the RAS correctly it guides us towards the
people and circumstances that will allow
us to achieve our ambitions. He continues
‘The RAS is akin to a junction box that
filters external environmental factors
that influence our internal thoughts,
feelings and actions. It is responsible for
the lifestyles that we have and our desires
for the future.’ For those of you who are
interested in this area, he mentions some
interesting aspects regarding sports and
the role of the motor cortex.
I liken it to a coffee filter; if you put in
bad coffee or negative thoughts from the
top down mentality then that’s what will
filter down and you’ll get a bad taste, but
if you put in the good stuff then you’ll get
exquisite tasting coffee. We decide what
we put in with conscious control.
But sometimes people need a little
help and from a bottom-up mentality,
when we give beneficial suggestions to

the subconscious mind in trance, those
powerful suggestions percolate and
filter up and this affects our everyday
reality. Over a period of weeks the
subconscious ‘reservoir’ can be filled with
positive and beneficial suggestions and
reframing so that when we open our eyes
we get a win-win scenario with positivity
brimming underneath to help us reflect
this out in our conscious waking state and
day to day living.
You could say that the RAS is the
science that underpins the law of
attraction, coincidentally linked to the
popularity of Rhonda Byrne’s astoundingly
successful book and DVD, ‘The Secret’.

References

So with our inherent survival instincts
and armed with thinking positively we
know that we survive better in groups
and when we interact better with
people and when we communicate with

others we can learn, develop and evolve.
In our profession as hypnotherapists
our work can sometimes be isolating so
it’s important that we take the time to
connect with each other. When times are
tough, especially in recessions, we can do
more together and gleam inspiration than
we can often do in isolation.
When things are challenging and you’re
out there on your own, I often say that
this can create tension and where there’s
tension, there’s attention, or in other words
action is required. So the importance of
getting together with others, whether it be
via continuing professional development,
workshops, peer groups or supervision, it’s
vital for our own wellbeing and is shown to
make us more effective and resilient 

There is often confusion between
the definitions of jealousy and
envy – they are both negative
emotions and they often cross over
in situations. Wiki separates the two
as follows
The common experience of jealousy for
many people may involve:

Fear of loss

Suspicion of or anger about a
perceived betrayal

L o w s e l f - e s t e e m
and sadness over perceived
loss

Uncertainty and loneliness

Fear of losing an important person
to another

Distrust
The experience of envy involves:

Feelings of inferiority

26 | Metamorphosis








Longing
Resentment of circumstances
Ill will towards envied person
often accompanied by guilt about
these feelings
Motivation to improve
Desire to possess the attractive
rival’s qualities
Disapproval of feelings

From a therapist’s point of view, client’s are
often puzzled as to why they have these
feelings and realise they are childish and
stupid, but feel totally compelled to keep
up their unhelpful behaviours.
You often find unhealthy jealousy when
a threat is posed by a third person in a
relationship with someone important to
you. It’s a very primal instinct and when you
consider it in terms of our survival, it often
highlights what we perceive as threats. The

threat of a rival in love can highlight that
your love object is either not trustworthy
or you have low levels of self confidence.
The threat of a new step mother or father
can mean a reduction in contact with your
blood relative. A new sibling means that
mother or father are spending time with
the new born and the first born is suddenly
thrown into a situation it would rather do
without – think of the song “Oh what a
lonely boy”.
You can be envious of someone else
without a third party being involved, a
promotion at work, earning more money
when doing the same job or getting a new
car for example.
At the heart of jealousy is a mix of selfesteem, lack of trust, anxiety, anger, self
doubt and fixed ideas which can lead
to setting traps, placing restrictions on
your partner, constantly checking where
they are, snooping, spying and mental
bullying. At its extreme it can lead to not
only domestic violence but also murder. I
have known 2 women who were victims
of extreme jealousy, one would be locked
in a cupboard for hours and the other
was murdered after she had split with
her partner because of his jealousy and
he asked her to meet up to talk. They met
in a barn close to where she lived, and he
took out a gun, shot her and then himself.
At no point was anyone aware that his
controlling behaviour would lead to such
tragic circumstances. Luckily for my friend
who had been locked in the cupboard, she
managed to placate her partner, and then

when he was out packed a bag, escaped
through a window and hitchhiked all the
way from Cornwall up to Bristol. She then
had a court order placed on him.
Sometimes though, the real reason
for jealous behaviour may not be totally
apparent.
A client, Kimberely, is in her late 20’s,
married to Matt, who is in the armed forces,
and she felt jealous about her husbands
out of work activities. She recognised it
was a problem for her, and didn’t want it to
ruin an otherwise good marriage.
Going through from week to week, she
started to un peel layers like an onion, her
jealousy revealed she had been desperate
for a baby, her anxiety likely to contribute
to the infertility. Then as she started to feel
better about that she started to see that
her self obsession with baby and jealousy
was causing problems with relationships
with others.
She wanted to do more for others, and
as she engaged in activities which helped
others she gained confidence in herself.
By the end of therapy she was no longer
jealous of her husband or his friends, she
felt confident that she would become
pregnant and she still had time, and she
could have IVF treatment, and she started
to train as a therapist herself 
Penny Ling is a Solution Focused
Hypnotherapist and can be found
at: www.pennyling.co.uk or
telephone 07508 658934

Metamorphosis | 27

Are you looking for a
fully qualified
Hypnotherapist?
Then look no further
than the Association for
Solution Focused
Hypnotherapy
All hypnotherapists:
 Are qualiﬁed to HPD level or equivalent which is a level IV
qualiﬁcation.
 Have trained in Solution Focused techniques from an
accredited school
 Are registered with a recognised professional body,
eg NCH, GHR, APHP, The Hypnotherapy Society, CNHC etc
 Are fully insured, have regular supervision and undertake
regular continued professional development.